Varying Stipulations
by Black Silken Rose
Summary: Knowing that the fox claims to love him, Hiei pays Kurama a visit and makes a demand to see how far he's willing to go. Despite the consequences, Kurama accepts his challenge. Hiei/Kurama, M for angsty lemon. Oneshot.


A/N: This started as an exercise in dialogue, but quickly turned into something else. I've done a couple Hiei in love with Kurama, so I thought it was about time to turn the tables and have a more vulnerable fox. Angst (and smex) level is high in this one- guess I've put out too many fluffy endings lately. This was definitely something new and different for me, though, so I really hope you like it!

**Let's bring the fandom back to life!** I think I'm all caught up on my requests, so feel free to drop me a **pm** **with your requests**. I love YYH yaoi, as you can tell, so don't be afraid to ask for something special!

**Dedication**: I just wanted to dedicate this fic to **KyoHana**; it's been a struggle finding a reason to keep writing stories like these in a fandom so old, but you've been with me all the way (back to when I was reading your work years and years ago.) Thank you so much for your kind words- it keeps me excited to continue on!

Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction site. I own nothing.

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He was angry.

As with most things between them, grand declarations of love were more of a challenge than a celebration. Kurama's admission had come off as sour and Hiei had taken it without any softness. There had been verbal sparring, followed by acts of violent physicality, but it had all been for naught.

Needless to say, _he_ was angry.

"You're late." Impatience. The fox exuded it. He sat in his desk chair, partially reclined, facing the window with obvious focus on it. His arms were crossed, a sign of his agitation, though the other had done nothing in particular to warrant it. But that was just Hiei's opinion.

"I didn't realize that I was expected." It came off as snide, though he had hoped his sudden presence would throw the other for a loop. The fact that it hadn't irked him.

"Perhaps I just know you too well," the redhead stated coolly, his eyes unblinking, hinting at predictability. The hi youkai stayed perched between inside and out, seeming to consider his options. It would have been a show of weakness to run so soon, but it certainly didn't stop him from indulging the fantasy.

"Doubtful."

There was quiet. The wind blowing in from outside chilled the room, amplifying the icy feel in the air. Though it had been Hiei's decision to return after his less than pleasant discovery, he was unsure whose move it was. Kurama always did seem three steps ahead of him.

"What do you want, Hiei?" Red eyes narrowed, the feet on the windowsill shifting infinitesimally. Fight. Flight.

"You expect me to be here yet you don't know what I want?" he sneered, a fang peeking out behind his lips. "So much for knowing me."

"I only ask because I don't think you know."

"Why would I come without knowing my own purpose?"

"Well the easiest way to prove me wrong would be to tell me." He had walked right into it, letting silence fall once more as he was faced with nothing left to say. The look on the fox's face would have been downright smug, had he not been so on edge. The fire demon couldn't quite pinpoint why; he had been the only one completely composed throughout the conversation as far as he was concerned.

"I had no choice but to come," he said through grit teeth, as if his being there was some horrific chore that he had been tricked into.

"And why is that?" the redhead asked casually. His unaffectedness was raking on the fire demon's nerves.

"Because you're a coward."

"Please, enlighten me," the kitsune drawled, folding his hands in his lap and tilting his head to the side as if trying to be patient with something mildly annoying. There had been a sense of finality in the other's statement, one that he seemed less than eager to explore.

"You're in love with me."

There was a moment's pause in which the spirit fox analyzed the disdain that dripped from his words, rolling them around in his mind, measuring. The hi youkai slipped from his perch, feet hitting the floor lightly. It had been a step into the room- so at odds with the voice with which he spoke. Kurama made a note of it, the small juxtaposition the tip of a red flag.

"Which is pertinent because?" The fire demon went from venomous to pissed, the carefully crafted face he wore cracking a bit.

"Clearly you had no plans to come to me, so I'm forced to find you instead."

He was surprised when the kitsune groaned, letting his hair fall forward as his head dropped to his hands, wiping frustration from his eyes for a moment.

"Hiei, why on Earth would that be reason to seek you out?"

The hot glare he received in answer was enough to tell him that the conversation was far from over. He stood, feeling the other tense with the moment, but pointedly ignored him as he padded over to his bed. Taking the pillow from its proper place, the redhead shoved it behind him, leaning his head against the wall. His hair fell uncaringly around his face as he tilted it to look in the other's direction, a pretty frame for pretty features. Something at the sight of him, so human and momentarily fragile, inspired a bubbling feeling in the pit of the hi youkai's stomach. He attributed it to rage.

"So that you could get what you want."

Well, that was interesting. The kitsune let an eyebrow raise at this, openly puzzled. Hiei watched him intently, as if trying to gauge something, but the openness in his eyes was short lived. The former thief averted his gaze quickly, seeming to find immediate interest in his bookshelf across the room. His tone, to the other's displeasure, did not change.

"And there it is. You assume I want something." Green eyes refused to blink, and red eyes narrowed. Arms crossed over the fire demon's chest, defiant and powerful.

"Of course you want something. You love me."

"Believe me, Hiei, at times like this I wish that I did not." The words were almost a whisper, coming out as the redhead pulled a leg to his chest, letting an arm wrap around it. The other saw it when his thoughts turned inward in the slight sagging of his head. The kitsune was busying his own mind, wondering where the detective was at that moment, and if he could possibly find an excuse to hunt him down.

Hiei's hands dropped to his side. Since the words had first been spoken, every second alone in that room with the fox had been stifling. Something churned in him, an itch for action, though he couldn't settle on what. His muscles sung for a fight, but he knew that the battles for now would be psychological. His legs told him to move, but he found that he couldn't run from the kitsune. His hands… well, his hands sought heat. That was the easiest urge to identify.

"Look at me."

The demand was met with nothing, the kitsune still as stone but for his slow, even breathing. Hiei's fist clenched, his body ready for some sort of battle but knowing that there would be little resistance from his counterpart. A low growl sounded from his throat, but the other still refused to respond. So Hiei did the only thing he could think to do. He made the other look.

Kurama willed his expression not to change as a body pressed down the mattress in front of him and strong fingers forced his chin up. His leg slid back down against the bed as the other hovered where it had been, his face six inches from the plant wielder's. It was with deadened eyes that the kitsune stared back, refusing to let the fire demon see past blanketed green. That didn't stop the little youkai from looking, not letting go of his hold on the other's face while he did.

It was a testing gesture when the fingers that held him in place left his chin to slide down his bared throat, tracing the line of his Adam's apple, only stopping where flesh met the fabric of his shirt. The fire demon's eyes were questing, looking for some hint of reaction from the other. The closest he got to one was the sharpening of his eyes, hard and cold.

"Why are you touching me, Hiei?" It was dictated like a warning. The fire demon ignored him, taking a moment to examine the way the tiny, nearly translucent hairs on the other's neck stood alert as he stroked back up.

"Isn't this what you want?" The fire demon lowered his voice, taking great pleasure in the slightest of chills it sent through the other. This power, this control. That was what the other's love gave him. It made him stronger.

"You haven't answered my question." The kitsune exhaled evenly, taking great pains in keeping himself impassive. It only served to enrage the other.

"Neither have you." The warded hand moved to trace the redhead's jaw, curling a loose strand of hair around his ear slowly. His other hand lingered at the kitsune's thigh, drawing up toward his hip dangerously. It was pure anger that kept the fox's breath from hitching. "Don't tell me you've never thought about it, Kurama. Even _I_ have. This will happen one way or another." _Whether you admit you want it or not. _

"What exactly are you pursuing?" Much like the goosebumps along the redhead's skin, Hiei could feel the plant life in and surrounding the room bristling. He chose not to care.

"Nothing of substance." The face in front of him indicated that he expected a clear elucidation. This time, he was obliged. "There can be sex without love."

"I never expected you to be one to give your body without your heart." His voice dropped without his say so, though he kept his eyes where they were. One of his fingers twitched, the feeling of entrapment weighing over him. The other did not seem to notice.

"That's rich, coming from the Youko." There wasn't much fire in his words, not with his hand playing idly with soft red hair, but it managed to sting. Ever so slightly.

"No. Coming from the _human_ it is not." At first, Hiei had thought that the kitsune had faltered. His posture slacked, body becoming relaxed, hands unclenching where they lay on the blankets. The harshness faded. All emotion faded. His eyes were closed off again. "But then, I suppose it doesn't apply to me, now does it? So I'll humor you. You're right, though. I suppose I don't know you after all."

There was no passion in the movement when Kurama leaned forward, head tilting to the side, to capture the other's mouth. There was no spark in his open eyes that the fire demon could see, nothing indicating that he had any stake in his actions. Without deep reasoning as to why, Hiei found himself infuriated by it. Roughly, the hand in his hair yanked back, aborting the heatless kiss.

"We don't need any of that."

Hiei's head dove to the juncture of the kitsune's neck, tongue darting out as warning before he sucked and nipped at the flesh there. The fox jolted, unprepared for the sudden initiation of touch.

It was a slow, difficult effort when he lifted his hands, setting one in soft black hair and the other on the fire demon's back. Out of Hiei's sight for the first time, Kurama let his eyes close for a number of seconds that could be counted on both his hands. In that time, he let himself feel. Then, he got to work.

When the fire demon began to pull back the kitsune pushed, his hands trailing up the other's chest as he removed the sleeveless shirt from his compact body. Hiei helped, tossing it over his head as nails raked back down bare skin, heating up trails as they went. Before he had time to do anything else, the kitsune moved in to a position like the other had before, biting at his earlobe and worrying it with his teeth. Hiei growled in response, making short work of the kitsune's shirt before taking back the lead.

Kurama didn't put up much of a fight when he was pinned to the bed, arms over his head, exposed. He had assumed that it would turn out like this, that there was something the other needed to prove in it. Red eyes bore down at him before teeth scraped at his collar, one hand holding his up while the other trailed over his abdomen, exploring. He let himself be held still as a mouth descended roughly on a nipple, arms lying laxly from where they were joined. He let out a heavy breath at the treatment, the fire demon's eyes watching his face for reaction as he moved to the other side of his chest. Seemingly frustrated at his lack of enthusiasm, Hiei bit hard, letting the hand that was wandering lower and lower dig into the kitsune's thigh. At this, the redhead cried out sharply, his body jumping underneath the youkai. There was, however, no change in his eyes.

Seeing that the fire demon was moving down his body, the fox broke his grasp, reaching for a fistful of hair and pulling him back up. Hiei followed the movement, expecting another attempt at a kiss, only to find the redhead sliding under him, hands quickly working at his belts. He watched with obscene fascination as the fox rid him of the article, taking his growing arousal in his hand without hesitation. The youkai let out a deep moan as hot breath tickled his head, fisting the sheets beneath him as the kitsune took him in his mouth. He lowered his hips, pushing himself to the fox's throat as the former thief's free hand came up to massage his perineum, the stimulation overwhelming. Kurama didn't seem to mind, taking the extra girth without a hitch and letting the fire demon buck.

It wasn't long before Hiei felt the need to push inside the kitsune, tearing himself from the mouth below him. The fox was still half clothed, his pants hanging suggestively from his hip bones, but nonetheless there. The fire demon climbed between his legs, pulling at the fabric until it was gone, but stopping thereafter. His eyes met cold green as he ran his hands up the inside of the plant wielder's legs, feeling them tense beneath his touch. Kurama hissed at the contact but did not fight it- the look that the other gave him did not give him much of a choice. It was no wonder, Hiei thought acidly, that the kitsune had taken him in his mouth rather than let himself be taken; the fox seemed adverse to the idea of touch.

With a last piercing look at unfeeling eyes, the hi youkai dropped his face, hooking the kitsune's legs over his shoulders in one movement. Ignoring the still soft member in front of him, he flicked out his tongue, pushing it against the fox's entrance. Kurama gasped softly, his body clenching, clearly not expecting the action. He tried to pull his legs together but the fire demon kept them in place, using his free hand to spread pale skin as his tongue probed onward again, pushing past the ring of muscles that defied him. Hiei rimmed him eagerly, not bothering to suppress a wicked grin as the kitsune let out a small whimper, growing hard despite himself. Wanting to see the other's face as he writhed, the smaller youkai replaced his tongue with his fingers, absentmindedly licking up the fox's balls as he rubbed him from the inside. It was almost a disappointment to see the kitsune's head thrown off to the side, his eyes out of view, but the shaking of his body spoke even if he didn't.

The hi youkai ran his tongue languidly up the fox's arousal, keeping his fingers buried deep as he fucked him with his hand. It wasn't until he reached the tip that his eyes met the other's mouth, curious as to why he was keeping so quiet. The spiky haired demon's face fell as he saw the reason. The kitsune's teeth were lodged into the skin above his wrist, biting down hard enough to draw blood, which was leaving a trail down to the sheets. Hiei's face immediately hardened, the anger that he had in the beginning returning in full at the sight. The look of him, staring back blankly and shaking, negating any intimacy in the moment, brought the fire demon into a rage.

The fox was naked, for the first time in their long partnership. He was bloody. He was in love with him, under him, writhing at his touch. But his eyes, still, said nothing. They looked through him, denied him the power of domination. They rejected him. They were anything but vulnerable.

Suddenly, Hiei realized that he had relinquished control to the other long before he stepped into the room.

In one movement, the fire demon removed his fingers, ripping the arm that the kitsune held to his mouth away, and pushed himself inside. No amount of willpower could help the fox from crying out, his eyes fluttering for the first time as the hi youkai began slow, shallow thrusts inside him. Hiei's head dropped to Kurama's neck as he moved, panting with effort, licking and sucking and biting whatever bits of soft skin he could reach.

Kurama's first instinct was to bury his face in the dark hair against his cheek, a hand grasping a well-muscled shoulder as he whimpered with each movement of the demon above him. His second instinct, only moments later, was to turn away, eyes opening again as he realized the comfort he was seeking and denied himself, the hand that had clutched the youkai to him seeking the fabric of the sheets around him to grasp instead.

Hiei followed in suit, pulling back enough to adjust the angle of his thrusts, sliding into the kitsune all the way. Kurama yelped, arching involuntarily as the sensation that filled him intensified. The fire demon leaned back and watched as he pummeled the fox's sweet spot, moisture gathering at the pretty tip of the kitsune's head, which was turning a delicate pink. He moved his face in to the fox's again, leaving tiny bites along his chin, his abdomen rubbing against the kitsune's enflamed cock as he pressed into him with violent force. When he sat upright, it was with a sick flair of triumph, never ceasing his pleasurable assault as the fox let out a cry somewhere between a moan and a wail.

There was no way to win, no right way out. Kurama knew that however it ended, the damage could not be undone. He had humored a small hope that this game of Hiei's had been more than just a cruel power play, had been the necessary step to make him understand what it was he was asking, but the harder the youkai tried to bring the fox to completion against his will, the less he believed that any sort of affection could be held in his actions. Out of options, out of optimism, there was nothing left to do but let the emotions he bit back go. Anything else would leave him an empty shell. Anything less would be an insult to his feelings.

It was with the breath on his face that the iron in his eyes faded, the voice that he held in cracked, and an intense, thoroughly wrong heat took him.

Covering his eyes with his arm, the fox came entirely undone.

"Hiei," he gasped, his voice coming out as a series of choking sobs. "Hiei, I love you. I love you." He panted, his words getting caught in in his cries as he flailed, keeping his face tucked into his elbow. "I love you, oh god Hiei, I love you."

He expected Hiei to stop. He truly did. He thought he would pull back, leave the fox unsated, and disappear into the night alone with his victory. But the youkai looking down at the redhead did not. For the first time since the confession, he did not pretend to be unaffected.

Kurama tried to fight as his arm was torn away, tried to keep his face hidden, but suddenly there was a mouth in the place of his shield, and Hiei was kissing him. It was partly out of shock that Kurama kissed him back, partly out of despair, but mostly out of his weakened half human heart and the feeling it gave him. They kissed with closed eyes, mouths moving desperately for each other, as if trying to claw their way into the other's skin. The passion that had been covered by rage boiled to the surface and they drowned in it, hips moving to meet each other as their tongues danced, hands somehow becoming entwined despite the hatred that had built up. Like that, holding the other as if he were a lifeline, that the kitsune came to completion.

It was with a painful sob that he came, trying with everything he had to pull back from the kiss just to breathe, but Hiei would not have it. Thrusting erratically at a speed that was enough to break him, Hiei pushed into the other's tightened body for the final time. He cried out as he came, face pressed against the kitsune's, eyes shut tight in sensual agony.

"Kurama."

The kitsune wasn't sure if Hiei knew he said it, but it was enough to break him from his stupor. The fire demon collapsed on top of him, breathing entirely ragged, his arms not willing to hold him up. The fox let him catch his breath before pushing at the shoulder in front of him, signaling to the other that he needed to move. With a dissatisfied grunt, the fire demon pulled out, giving Kurama back control of his body. The fox accepted it readily, rolling over onto his side and pulling his legs halfway up to his chest.

The post-orgasmic bliss lasted only a few seconds before the fire demon realized he was on longer welcome. It took a great effort to sit up, slinging his legs over the side of the bed, and not just curl up where he was, fox be damned. The air around him felt cooler than before, and with disdain he realized that it was because of the lack of shared body heat. He couldn't help but to stare down at the kitsune, his body taut, trying to find a reason not to go.

A reason not to leave the other alone.

"Are you quite through?"

The fox spoke, his alto low. Red hair splayed out all around him, obscuring his eyes from view, though Hiei had a good idea what he would find. He wanted to reach out, touch the crimson mane one last time, but the verbal interruption severed his chance.

"Why did you come here tonight, Hiei?" The youkai turned away, not able to look at his companion. He knew that Kurama had sensed that there was more to what he had said earlier, though, he had not really known what it was then.

"Because I couldn't believe it, unless you let me take it all." His jaw clenched with the words, hands bundled into fists. "Because you didn't want anything from it. And I did."

The kitsune turned to face him, mask fit to perfection. Hiei shied away, ready to bolt for the window when the fox slipped, the hand that he used to try and push himself up buckling from the self-inflicted wound he had made earlier. Instinctually, Hiei reached out to catch him, flinching ever so slightly when Kurama bit back a hiss at the touch.

"I will love you long after your hatred for me fades." With this he pulled away, making quick work of lifting himself from the bed and gathering his discarded pants.

"I'll only hate you if you leave me like this."

Hiei stopped, the fabric in his hands drooping as he turned back to the kitsune, eyes seeking validation. Kurama sat up as best as he could without putting weight on his hips, staring down the other with an intensity that sent a chill down the fire demon's spine. It was a captivating sight, to see the kitsune's eyes unguarded. They held in them fear and anger, crushed longing and hope, exhaustion and melancholy. For a moment, Hiei was unsure if they showed him the fox's feelings or simply reflected his own.

"All you had to do, Hiei," he began, his voice cracking with the effort to keep it calm. He was forced to look away, his shoulders quaking. "All you had to do was hold me."

Without hesitation, the fire demon flew to his side, wrapping arms around him from behind and pulling the kitsune back to the mattress. For the rest of the night, he kept a tight hold on him, covering the redhead in soft kisses and reassuring touches. It was not until he whispered the first untainted words of love that the fox completely opened up, almost silent sobs wracking his body, the first and only tears Hiei would ever see him shed making their way to the surface.

With tear stained cheeks, Kurama kissed him, and it was then that Hiei truly believed that he was loved.

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